Houston area car and truck sales up sharply

By David Kaplan

March 17, 2014

Houston auto dealers are off to a roaring start this year.

New car and truck retail sales of 28,014 for February were up 25.9 percent from the same time last year and up 29.1 percent over last month, according to TexAuto Facts, which tracks new vehicle sales in the 10 county Houston region.

January-February retail sales of 49,707 vehicles were up 9.5 percent over the same time last year, and are the highest January-February year-to-date sales totals since 2007, said Steve McDowell, owner of InfoNation, publisher of TexAuto Facts.

The significant rise in sales took place despite unusually cold weather in the area; he said, while nationally, year-to-date sales fell 1.4 percent.

McDowell is surprised by the sharp rise in car sales so far this year. He had forecasted retail sales increased of up to 4 percent for 2014.

Business for local auto dealers could always taper off later in the year, he cautioned.

Driving new vehicle sales increased are "the continuing strength of the economy and overall consumer confidence," McDowell said.

"February was one of the best months we've ever had," said Terry Shields, president of Mac Haik Automotive Group, which has nine dealerships in Texas, including three new car and one used car dealerships in the Houston area.

Used car sales outperformed new car sales in February, Shields said, but both categories were exceptional.

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He also attributed the robust sales in part to the Houston economy which he said "seems to be head and shoulders above the country's."

The average retail sales price in February dropped slightly in the Houston region to $34,252 from $34,742 in January, TexAuto Facts reported. The lower price may be due to an increase in manufacturer incentives, McDowell said.

Prince incentives have been particularly aggressive in the truck/SUV segment, he said. The truck market is extremely competitive, "with tremendous incentives being offered," he said.

Import trucks and SUVs increased their local retail market share over domestics for the year to date to 45.8 percent from 43.9 percent from the same time a year ago.

Toyota and Nissan have led the import market share increase, McDowell said, at the expense of Ford, Chevrolet and GMC. Dodge Ram has had year-to-date sales increase on the domestic truck side.

Ford is still the truck sales leader in the Houston area by a wide margin with a 21.2 percent market share.